Chris's Comments On This Pattern
Tying Instructions
1. Tie on, using the white thread and wrap a thread base, keeping in
mind that the dumbell will be mounted on to about 1/3 of the shank
length rearward of the eye. Allow sufficient space to tie down the
materials ahead of the dumbbell eyes.
2. The dumbbell is mounted on top of the thread base. Hold it in
position and secure it in place with several criss-cross wraps. Make
sure it is squared off and secure in place with "Hard as Nails" or your
favorite cement.
3. Cut a small amount of white bucktail, clean out shorties, and align
tips. Tie it on in front of dumbbell and lock down with tight wraps.
4. Pass the thread underneath bucktail and take a series of wraps
around the bucktail rearward of dumbbells. Cross back underneath
towards eye and switch to black thread.
5. Turn the hook upside down in the vise. Cut a small amount of pink
bucktail, clean out shorties, and align tips. Tie it on in front of
dumbbell and lock down with tight wraps.
6. Tie in a small bunch of Krystal Flash, 8-10 fibers total. Trim
butts and trim ends to the proper length in the rear.
7. Tie in 4-5 strands of peacock herl as an overwing.
8. Form head, whip-finish, and cement head.
Comments
The Clouser Minnow is a simple pattern which has been extremely
effective on many species of fish for me. Small, largemouth, and
striped bass, bluefish, flounder, chain pickeral, perch, crappie, and
brown and brook trout have mistaken a Clouser Minnow for a baitfish. I
have to admit that I have never caught a landlock salmon on a clouser,
but then again I have never tried!!!! I am confident that a Clouser
Minnow will be effective on landlocks.
Besides being a relatively
simple fly to tie, the Clouser has several nice qualities about it. The
fly is designed with lead eyes, therefore it sinks like a rock. This is
a major drawback of most streamer flys in my opinion, they don't sink
well! On a long leader, a Clouser Minnow can easily be fished 6 feet
deep in a river. You can also modify the sink rate of these flies by
either changing the size of the lead eyes or by tying a sleeker or
fuller fly. Therefore you can fish a wide range of depths by simply
changing only the fly. You can fish in the surface film with ultra
light lead eyes or even plastic eyes. You can fish on or near the
bottom with heavy lead eyes. Or fish anywhere in between. One word of
caution : with the heavier lead eyes, keep your cast tilted. These
flies hurt when they whack you in the back of the head!! Because the
wing is sleek and the fly has lead eyes, this fly casts surprisingly
well. If a good cast is made (often my problem) the fly will have a lot
of momentum to pierce through the wind and turn over very nicely.
I hope everyone enjoys these flies. Any feedback is welcome.
Chris Quinn
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